Ole Miss opened the season with a wild one, and it ended the way the Rebels wanted: with Lucas Carneiro drilling a 48-yard field goal as time expired to beat Louisville 41-38.
The No. 9 Rebels moved to 1-0 in Pete Golding’s first regular season game, but they had to survive a night full of swings before finally closing it out.
Ole Miss built a 38-24 lead with about six minutes left after Trinidad Chambliss punched in a rushing touchdown, only to watch No. 24 Louisville storm back with a string of deep completions and a critical defensive stop.
The Cardinals tied it at 38 with just over a minute remaining.
That’s when Chambliss took over again, steering Ole Miss down to the 31-yard line and setting up Carneiro for the game-winner. Carneiro has already built a reputation for clutch kicks with the Rebels dating back to the College Football Playoff, and this one only adds to that growing resume.
It was a game that barely hinted at its final score at halftime, when Ole Miss led just 10-6.
Chambliss finished 21 of 36 for 336 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, while Kewan Lacy led the ground game with 17 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown. Deuce Alexander was the big-play weapon in the passing game, hauling in five catches for 159 yards and two scores.
Defensively, Braylon Braxton and Keaton Thomas paced the Rebels with eight total tackles, Kam Franklin finished with two tackles for loss for minus-14 yards, and Franklin and Luke Ferelli each recorded a sack.
The first half showed a defense that was flying around and making plays. The second half looked very different.
Ole Miss scored enough to win plenty of games, but the unit also had stretches where things got loose, especially in the secondary. Busted coverages popped up repeatedly, and there was enough confusion on assignments and communication that the film session this week should be a long one.
The Rebels do get a chance to clean it up before SEC play. Charlotte comes next, and the bigger concern may be Lacy’s workload after what was reported unofficially as a deep bruise to his left leg.
He had some effective runs, but he also received treatment on the sideline and was clearly not fully available. With LSU coming up on Sept.
19, Ole Miss will likely want to be careful with him.
Ole Miss and Charlotte will kick off Saturday at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Fans ESPN Moment Became A Much Bigger Story Than Expected
The season opener against Louisville gave Ole Miss plenty of drama on the field, but one fans reaction wound up getting nearly as much attention as the game itself. During ESPNs coverage, Sara M. Smith was shown looking understandably stressed after a Louisville touchdown, and the brief moment quickly took on a life of its own once it hit social media.
Smiths anxious expression spread fast enough to turn her into an unintended viral figure, prompting a flood of attention and forcing her to temporarily lock down her Instagram profile. It was a strange little subplot to a wild night in Oxford, where the Rebels eventually finished the job with a 41-38 win on a walk-off field goal. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Win Comes With One Deuce Alexander Debate
Deuce Alexander turned in the kind of breakout day Ole Miss fans will remember from a wild 41-38 win over Louisville, hauling in two 62-yard touchdown receptions to help fuel the Rebels offense. He finished with five catches for 159 yards and two scores, giving the passing game a huge lift in a game that stayed tight deep into the afternoon.
Alexanders second touchdown also left behind a small bit of sideline debate, thanks to a celebration that came immediately after he crossed the stripe. On the play, he flipped the ball behind him and may have let it go before fully reaching the goal line, but the officials did not stop to review it, allowing the score to stand and Ole Miss to keep control of a game it could not afford to lose. [Read more 🡒]
Trinidad Chambliss Answered Ole Miss Biggest Week 1 Question
The most important thing Ole Miss needed to learn in Week 1 was whether Trinidad Chambliss could steady a game that might have gotten away early, and he answered it in a big way against Louisville. After a shaky start that included turnovers, Chambliss settled in and kept the Rebels on course in a back-and-forth matchup, piling up 386 passing yards and accounting for four touchdowns while helping Ole Miss survive a 41-38 finish.
What stood out most was how the game tightened around him late, when every possession mattered and the Rebels needed someone to handle the pressure instead of adding to it. In a weekend when a lot of SEC teams cruised through lopsided openers, Ole Miss got a real test, and Chambliss final drive gave the Rebels a much clearer idea of what they have under center as the season moves into a tougher stretch. [Read more 🡒]